There are some truly cool innovations happening this week! We love Instagram’s new audio edit tool, and YouTube and X are making strides to include new engagement and community features in their platforms. It’s a crazy time to be in social media! Let’s dive into the news.
1. Instagram lets users play DJ and mix their own sounds
Instagram has introduced a truly interesting new feature. Their new audio innovation allows users to load several audio tracks and edit them in the app. This allows users to do what could only be done in CapCut or with video editing software before, and they are likely to see a lot of interesting applications as users begin to manipulate the tool.
…you can now include up to 20 tracks in a single Reel, and have them overlapping or merging into each other, in order to fit the different phases of the clip.
2. YouTube is allowing users to connect with their Community Spaces
YouTube lacks a group communication feature along the lines of Facebook Groups. Many times, creators have to take their communications off the platform, and this limits the amount of collaboration and conversation that can happen on the platform.
Enter: Community Spaces.
YouTube has started beta testing a new Community Spaces feature. It’s a dedicated space for creators and their communities to share posts, interact, and have conversations. Users can filter posts within a Community by Top, Latest, and Creator Posts. Communities can also be public or private.
At the moment, access is available to select creators, including FroggyCrossing, but YouTube says to “stay tuned as opportunities to participate become available.”
Super cool functionality with a ton of potential!
3. X is moving ahead with more testing for downvotes
This could be a huge move in helping sift through trolls and ranking content. They seem to have accounted for a lot of the potential abuses of the tool in the planning, but the testing still hasn’t been released to the general public. More details at the link below.
The new UI button on replies is a broken heart icon, as opposed to the heart for a Like. So it’s effectively a dislike button, which will be displayed on post replies only, not on actual posts themselves.
4. YouTube is testing an Add Yours feature
YouTube is trying its hand at getting more interaction on Shorts. Instagram has long had Stickers that allow people to post responses to Stories. Now, YouTube is testing out a similar tool. They’re currently testing an Add Yours button to encourage more responses.
